JNPT fondly remembers R.Vasudevan

JNPT fondly remembers R. Vasudevan and his plethora of achievements

Conceiver & executor of PPP in ports


1st box terminal with pvt. participation (NSICT)


Signatory to historic JNPT-NSICT Licence Agreement

A condolence meeting was held on July 26 at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) here to mourn the demise of Mr R. Vasudevan, IAS (Retd.), former JNPT Chairman and Secretary (Shipping and Transport), in Mumbai the previous day. Mr Vasudevan, an IAS officer of the 1964 batch of Maharashtra Cadre, had served as Chairman of JNPT during 1996-1998 before he was appointed Secretary (Shipping and Transport).

Some of the other important positions held by him were Director-General of Shipping, with additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director of Shipping Corporation of India, Secretary to the Union government, Inter-State Council Secretariat, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Vice-Chairman, Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal.

Mr Vasudevan’s tenure as JNPT Chairman was fondly remembered, in particular, for his contribution, with great determination, to the development of the Port and for making JN Port what it is today.


A dynamic visionary, Mr Vasudevan came to be credited with the conception and implementation of the public-private partnership (PPP) concept for ports, and he ensured that such a bold step of the government would prove to be successful. The setting up of the first container terminal with private participation, viz. NSICT, was the result of this initiative and Mr Vasudevan was a signatory to the historic Licence Agreement between JNPT and NSICT.


The condolence meeting was chaired by Mr N.N. Kumar, IRS, Chairman-in-Charge, JNPT, and attended by the representatives of the private terminals, Mr Bhushan Patil, Trustee, JNPT, and other senior officers of JNPT, who expressed condolences and deepest sympathy to the bereaved family. Ms Vandana Vasudevan, daughter of Mr Vasudevan, was also present at the meeting.

Mr S. K. Kaul, Chief Manager (Admn.) and Secretary, JNPT, in his speech, said that the tenure of Mr Vasudevan as JNPT Chairman would be remembered forever for his dynamic leadership and for the bold decisions taken by him.

Mr Bhushan Patil described Mr Vasudevan as "a dynamic personality who was sincere and straightforward in every approach". He would be remembered by one and all for his contribution to the development of the Port, he stressed.

Mr Kaul also read out the condolence messages of Mr S. S. Hussain, ex-Chairman, JNPT, and Ms Maya Sinha, ex-Deputy Chairperson, JNPT.